For your enjoyment…

Do you feel the same as I do on weekends on or special holidays, or when you have guests over? I’d like to cook something very special, not the usual fare. Then I’m either spoiled for choice or I can’t think of anything at all. If even intensively searching the internet turns out to be fruitless or leafing through piles of cookbooks doesn’t turn up any solution, try our Recipe of the Month!

From the chefs of the Schick Restaurants in Vienna, every month there is a new, seasonal recipe from Austrian-Spanish or Viennese cuisine for you to prepare and enjoy at home! If you don’t want to have to prepare the recipe yourself, you can order the finished dish in comfort at the corresponding Schick Restaurant and indulge all around…

In January 2018 – recipe by Felix Albiez – chef of the decorated Restaurant “Das Schick”:

Pulpo à la Gallega
Black garlic . Piment d´Espelette . Vitelotte potatoes

Ingredients for 4 servings:

1 octopus
1 tbsp. peppercorns
1 tbsp. fennel seeds
1 tbsp. coriander seeds
4 bay leaves
1 small bunch of thyme
1 glove of garlic
400 g vitelotte (purple potatoes)
1 bulb of black garlic
2 egg yolks
1 cup of cold-pressed olive oil
50 g sepia food coloring
1/2 lemon
sea salt, freshly ground

Preparation:

Wash the octopus. In a pot, bring water and all spices to a boil. Add the octopus and boil for approx. 1 1/2 to 2 hours on medium heat until tender. Let the octopus cool, separate the tentacles from the body, slice into individual portions and sauté lightly on both sides.

Boil the potatoes in salt water until soft. Allow to cool, then cut into thick slices. Prior to serving, sauté the potatoes on both sides until they turn golden brown.

For the aioli, grind the peeled garlic cloves in a mortar together with a pinch of salt. Alternatively, you can chop them very finely using a chopping or mincing knife. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks together with the garlic. Next, add the oil, first one drop at a time, then in a thin stream, constantly beating the mixture using a wire whisk or a hand blender. Make sure that you only add enough oil to ensure that the sauce continues to bind. Once the sauce has reached a mayonnaise-like consistency, add the sepia food coloring and season to taste with some lemon juice and salt.

Serving: Spread the potato slices on the plate. Squirt the aioli between the potatoes, placing the octopus on top. Sprinkle everything with olive oil and Piment d’Espelette.

Bon appétit!